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Benedict to become 'pope emeritus' after resignation Benedict to become 'pope emeritus' after resignation
(about 2 hours later)
Pope Benedict will keep the honorific His Holiness after he resigns on Thursday and will be known as "pope emeritus", the Vatican has said. Pope Benedict will keep the honorific His Holiness after he resigns on Thursday and will be known as "pope emeritus", the Vatican said.
He will wear a simple white cassock and his ring of office as pope will be destroyed according to Vatican tradition, a spokesman told a briefing on Tuesday. He will wear a simple white cassock and his ring of office as pope will be destroyed according to Vatican tradition, a spokesman, Federico Lombardi, told a briefing on Tuesday.
While he will no longer wear his trademark red shoes, Benedict has taken a liking to a pair of hand-crafted brown loafers made for him by artisans in León, Mexico, and presented to him during his 2012 visit, that he will wear in retirement instead.
Benedict will become the first pope in some six centuries to resign instead of ruling for life.Benedict will become the first pope in some six centuries to resign instead of ruling for life.
Given the rarity of the occasion, Vatican officials have been holding discussions about what he will be called and how he will dress.Given the rarity of the occasion, Vatican officials have been holding discussions about what he will be called and how he will dress.
The Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said on Tuesday that Benedict himself made the decisions. Lombardi said that Benedict himself made the decisions. He said he did not know why Benedict had decided to drop his other main title: bishop of Rome.
While he will no longer wear his trademark red shoes, Benedict has taken a liking to a pair of hand-crafted brown loafers made for him by artisans in Leon, Mexico, and presented to him during his 2012 visit. He will wear them in retirement. In the two weeks since Benedict's resignation announcement, Vatican officials had suggested that Benedict would most likely resume wearing the traditional black garb of a cleric and would use the title "emeritus bishop of Rome" so as to not create confusion with the future pope.
Benedict's decision to call himself emeritus pope and to keep wearing white is likely to fan concern voiced privately by some cardinals about the awkward reality of having two popes, both living within the Vatican walls.
Adding to the concern is that Benedict's trusted secretary, Monsignor Georg Gänswein, will be serving both pontiffs, living with Benedict at the monastery inside the Vatican and keeping his day job as prefect of the new pope's household.
Asked about the potential conflicts, Lombardi was defensive, saying the decisions had been clearly reasoned and were probably chosen for the sake of simplicity.
"I believe it was well thought out," he said.
Benedict has said that he is retiring to a lifetime of prayer and meditation "hidden from the world". However, he will still be very present in the tiny Vatican city-state, where his new home is right next to the Vatican Radio and has a lovely view of the dome of St Peter's basilica.
Lombardi also elaborated on the College of Cardinals meetings that will take place after the papacy becomes vacant – crucial gatherings in which cardinals will discuss the problems facing the church and set a date for the start of the conclave to elect Benedict's successor.
The first meeting is not now expected until Monday, Lombardi said, since the official convocation to cardinals to come to Rome will only go out on Friday, which is the first day of what is known as the sede vacante, or the vacancy between papacies.
In all, 115 cardinals under the age of 80 are expected to assemble in Rome for the conclave to vote on who should become the next pope; two other eligible cardinals have already said they are not coming, one from Indonesia and Cardinal Keith O'Brien, who stood down as archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh the day after the Observer published accusations by three serving priests and a former priest about his conduct towards them during the 1980s.
Cardinals who are 80 and older can join the college meetings but will not participate in the conclave or vote.
Benedict gave the cardinals the go-ahead on Monday to bring forward the start date of the conclave, ignoring the traditional 15-day waiting period. But the cardinals will not actually set a date for the conclave until they begin meeting officially on Monday.
Lombardi also further detailed Benedict's final 48 hours as pope: on Tuesday, he was packing, arranging for documents to be sent to the various archives at the Vatican and separating out the personal papers he will take with him into retirement.
On Wednesday, Benedict will hold his final general audience in St Peter's Square – an event that has already seen 50,000 requests for tickets. He will not greet visiting prelates or VIPs as he normally does at the end but will greet some visiting political leaders from San Marino, Andorra and his native Bavaria privately afterwards.
On Thursday, the pope meets his cardinals in the morning and then flies by helicopter at 5pm to Castel Gandolfo, the papal residence south of Rome. He will greet parishioners there from the palazzo's balcony in his final public act as pope.
And at 8pm, the exact time at which his retirement becomes official, the Swiss Guards standing outside the doors of the palazzo at Castel Gandolfo will go inside, their service protecting the head of the Catholic church now finished.
Benedict's personal security will be assured by Vatican police, Lombardi said.